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Desmond and Georgia Warren were the closest thing I’d had to parents since my own passed away when I was a little girl, so having them worry over me weighed heavy on my conscience. And don’t get me started on how terrible I felt if I got even an inkling of disappointment from either of them. God, it gutted me.
“All right,” I huffed. “No need to get all Momma Bear on me. I’m fine, really it’s just, I think—well, I’m not totally certain, but I think I might kinda sorta have a date tonight?”
Her eyes rounded for a beat before narrowing in confusion. “Youthinkyou have a date? How does that happen?”
I flapped my hands out at my sides in exasperation. “It’s confusing. And it’s all Luna’s fault,” I ended on a grumble.
“Okay, sweetheart. I think you may need to start at the beginning.”
I did just that, telling her the whole story, starting with the come-to-Jesus Luna had laid on me during Margarita Monday, all the way to what had happened the morning before and how Luna had stuck her big fat nose in the middle of it. As I spoke, Georgia’s eyebrows creeped higher and higher up her forehead until they were nearly at her hairline by the time I finished.
“Well then,” she said on a whispered breath once I finally finished, “that is quite the pickle, isn’t it?”
“Exactly! So now do you understand how I might be a little confused about the whole thing? I mean, could dinner at my place be considered a date when my daughter is going to be there and we were basically forced into it by my meddling, well-intentioned but pain-in-the-ass friend?”
Shetskedand gave her head a shake. “That girl. She really does know how to whip up chaos wherever she goes.”
“Tell me about it,” I grouched.
“So you’ve been watching the door like a hawk just waiting to swoop down and snatch up a big fat squirrel all day because you’re hoping he might come through?”
“No!” I exclaimed way too defensively. “Well... maybe.” With a pitiful groan, I slapped my hand over my face and plopped down on the stool behind the register. “You know, this is why I’m single. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. I should just call and cancel, but I don’t even have the guy’s number. And there’s no way I’m canceling in person. That’s humiliating.”
Georgia’s fingers wrapped around my wrist gently, pulling my hand from my eyes. When she spoke next, her tone was somehow both gentle and firm at the same time. It was what I called the Mother Tone. And she excelled at it. I’d tried it on Luna several times, but so far, it hadn’t yielded the same results.
“First off, I’m going to need you to take a nice, deep breath. I think you might have used up all your oxygen on that rant.” She waited for me to fill my lungs on a huge inhale. “You feeling better now?”
I looked to the side in contemplation. “Maybe a little.”
“All right, good. Now, about this date—”
“It might not be a date.”
She arched a single brow.Damn it, was everyone able to do that but me? “Oh, sweet child. You really have been single for far too long.”
My forehead pinched in a frown. “What do you mean?”
“If a man didn’t want to have dinner with a woman, he’d find a way to get out of it, trust me. Especially if a child was involved. Renee is the best thing in the entire world, but let’s be honest, fastest way to get rid of a man is to introduce him to your kid.”
I nodded in agreement. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“You’re gorgeous, kind-hearted, and funny. Anyone who gets to know you loves spending time with you. Ofcoursethis is a date.”
My skin started to tingle like my whole body was gearing up from a static shock. “And somehow, that doesn’t make me feel any better.”
“You’ve just been out of the game for a while. You’ll get back in the swing of things.”
The door opened right that second, the bell ringing melodically. My eyes went to it, like they had all day, and that static shock let loose, coursing through my entire body and making the tiny hairs on my arms stand on end.
“Trent,” I said, my voice coming out much breathier than I’d intended. With the way I reacted to him—Every. Freaking. Time—you’d have thought I hadn’t just seen him the day before.
What the hell was wrong with me?
“Holy smokes,” Georgia murmured under her breath so only I could hear. “That’s him?”
His gaze shot to the counter I was standing behind, and those damn brain glitch- inducing dimples dented his cheeks. “Hey, Sawyer. I didn’t realize you’d be here.”
“Y-yeah. I work here.” I nearly smacked my forehead at my stupidity.Way to state the obvious, Sawyer.
